News

High Fidelity: Kasra's Top 5 Critical Tips for 2013

Ahead of his first label's first Critical Sound takeover of the year tonight, we asked label boss Kasra (pictured above) to look ahead into the future and see if he could predict five things that followers could look forward to... So last year was our tenth birthday year and it was pretty vintage. We put out some great music and had some special events but I'm all about looking forward and focusing on what we have developing over the coming months and years. With this in mind here's a run down of what's exciting us over at Critical HQ for 2013 and beyond. Ivy Lab: When Sabre, Stray and Halogenix teamed up with Frank Carter for 'Oblique' something really special happened. They managed to capture something I felt had been missing for a while in drum & bass; some of that subtlety and groove. It pleases me greatly that the trio has now formed into a fully fledged project. You can expect their debut single (again featuring Frank) to drop on Feb 4th with another EP later in the year. New Enei EP: Alexey's album went down a storm last year and I was very proud of him for making such an accomplished and vital d&b album. It was interesting for me that when he finished the album the first thing Alex did was go back in the studio and work on his next release. Its always really exciting when an artist develops their sound, growing and adapting. I cant wait for people to hear this new set of tracks. New Critical Compilation: I love a good compilation album, some of the genre's greatest works have been in this format - Platinum Breakz and Logical Progression are one of the reasons I started a label. I try and channel some of their spirit when putting a new collection together. This projects shaping up nicely with tracks from the usual Critical suspects, some special collaborations and some equally special guests. Mefjus: Mefjus is a formidable talent. He's been working away in the shadows for a while now, making some killer beats and it's fantastic for us to have his output as a new label addition. His attitude to the music is enviable, he's so enthusiastic and driven whilst being incredibly creative. For a label this is the perfect balance. His debut single drops in March with an EP project slated for release later in the year as well as some remixes. Events: The Critical Sound nights have become a key part of what we sow at the label. Travelling across the globe showcasing the artists and the ideaology of what we do. We have some really big announcements for this year including something very exciting for March at fabric. Catch Kasra, along with Hyperdub boss Kode9, Randall b2b Bailey, Jubei b2b Skeptical, Mefjus, Xtrah and FD in Room Two tonight. The next Critical Sound will be on March 22nd, more news on that shortly. Photo by Sarah Ginn.
Tags
No items found.